Archive · 16 Sep 2026
Kerala Police Raid Reporter TV Over Alleged Messi Event Fraud
Police searched a television company’s office and several homes in Kerala.
The searches were connected to a planned football match involving Argentina and Lionel Messi in Kochi.
The match was later cancelled because of contract and funding problems.
Police say some agreements connected to the event may have been fake and that the government may have been misled.
They are also examining possible tax and money-transfer problems.
The television company says it cooperated with the investigation but says journalists’ work and phones were interfered with.
Police deny disrupting the broadcast or taking journalists’ phones.
Opposition leaders and journalists’ groups called the searches harmful to press freedom.
Kerala Police’s Special Investigation Team searched five premises, including the Reporter TV office and residences linked to Anto Augustine and his brothers.
The searches concern alleged cheating, criminal conspiracy, fabricated agreements and financial irregularities surrounding a proposed Argentina-Lionel Messi match in Kochi.
The FIR names Anto Augustine as the first accused and Reporter Broadcasting Company as the second accused.
Investigators are examining alleged tax evasion of Rs 25.78 crore, foreign remittances of about Rs 126 crore and a request involving a Rs 5 crore stadium security deposit.
Police said the searches followed a magistrate-approved warrant, while Reporter TV and opposition leaders alleged newsroom disruption and an attack on press freedom.
- Who
- Kerala Police’s Special Investigation Team, Anto Augustine, Reporter Broadcasting Company, Reporter TV employees, and opposition critics are involved.
- What
- Police searched five premises in a case alleging cheating, criminal conspiracy and financial irregularities linked to a proposed Argentina-Lionel Messi football event.
- When
- The searches took place early Wednesday morning, days after the FIR was registered; one report described them as occurring a day afterward.
- Where
- The locations included Reporter Broadcasting Company’s office in Kalamassery and residences in Kochi and Wayanad.
- Why
- Police allege that fabricated agreements and related financial activity may have misled the Kerala government and football supporters.
Police and Government Position
Reporter TV and Press-Freedom Critics
Legal basis for the searches
Police and Government Position
Police said a preliminary investigation, Sports Department reports and witness statements indicated a cognizable offence, leading to an FIR and a magistrate-approved search warrant.
Reporter TV and Press-Freedom Critics
Anto Augustine said the company had cooperated and argued that authorities could have requested information without raiding the news organization.
Treatment of journalists
Police and Government Position
ADGP P. Vijayan said police did not disrupt the news telecast or seize journalists’ phones and that the operation was videographed.
Reporter TV and Press-Freedom Critics
Reporter TV employees and Augustine alleged that police entered the newsroom, disrupted work and took journalists’ personal phones.
Press freedom
Police and Government Position
Police and V.D. Satheesan described the action as part of a legitimate criminal investigation into alleged cheating, tax issues and financial wrongdoing.
Reporter TV and Press-Freedom Critics
Reporter TV, Pinarayi Vijayan and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists called the newsroom intrusion an attempt to silence the media and an assault on press freedom.
- Investigating agency
- Kerala Police Special Investigation Team
- Premises searched
- Five locations, including the Reporter TV office and residences associated with the Augustine brothers
- Named accused
- Anto Augustine was named first accused; Reporter Broadcasting Company was named second accused
- Proposed event
- An exhibition match involving the Argentina national football team and Lionel Messi at Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium
- Alleged tax issue
- Investigators are examining alleged tax evasion of Rs 25.78 crore
- Other financial issues
- The probe is examining foreign remittances of roughly Rs 126 crore and a proposed exemption from a Rs 5 crore stadium security deposit
- Police position
- Police said a magistrate’s court issued the search warrant and denied disrupting the telecast or seizing journalists’ phones
